Space and Ranks
by Burning Minatu
Summary: Bolin is a Lieutenant who usually goes on missions with Iroh on the Sun Spire, however, he was very recently sent on a top-secret mission that Iroh knows nothing about. Therefore, Captain Iroh is rather worried about his crew mate. AU.


****This fic is also available on Ao3, among several of my other broh fics. This is one of the 30 day broh challenge fics, and also one of my favorites, so I went ahead and shared it here. :]****

**I used Navy ranks, cause that's what I know.**

_**Disclaimer**_** \- I do not own the characters in the LOK 'verse.**

**Onwards.**

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Captain Iroh, commander of the Sun Spire, was accustomed to being out in the middle of space for months, sometimes even _years_. However, Iroh was not accustomed to Bolin not being on the ship with him. Lieutenant Bolin was a permanent fixture on Iroh's crew. That was just how it was. Every other crew member was exchanged or reassigned, but not Bolin.

However, the reason for this was because the United Federation of Galaxies (UFG) needed Bolin for a top-secret mission of some sort that had Iroh out of his mind with worry. Now, this was something he never had the chance to admit as fornicating with your crew was not allowed, under _any_ circumstance, but Bolin was not currently part of his crew, so he was allowed to think about it, entertain the idea, and most importantly, worry over Bolin's safety.

Of course, Iroh wasn't the sort to openly share these particular feelings of his, but he made a habit of talking about it to his personalized therapy AI, who was continuously watching his stress levels because they were sky rocketing. Of course, there was a reason for this, Iroh was worrying his lips bloody over Bolin, and no one would tell him anything about Bolin's current status.

_Top-secret_. Iroh had a serious problem with that word. He was just glad that he was getting down to the last few weeks of his own mission, which wasn't top-secret, but still their coordinates were still mostly in the dark.

Now, Iroh knew the importance of these shadow missions, and he knew there was no better pick than Lieutenant Bolin, but still, he felt no better about it. Of course, Iroh had heard a whisper that Commander Zhu Li and Ensign Varrick were also on the same mission. The two were good soldiers, especially Zhu Li, who (though of higher rank than Varrick and was practically attached to the hip of the engineer) was a fantastic soldier, at a level all her own.

So to some degree, Iroh had faith that everything would be alright, but that still did nothing for his irrational heart. His therapy AI reminded him that he needed to take more breaks throughout the day in order to rebalance himself properly. It didn't help.

When they landed their ship at the harbor on the planet Avatar in Quadrant 49 of Republic City, Iroh couldn't be more happy to be at land. Bolin had said he should be back a few weeks before Iroh, so now he would finally get to see his favorite Lieutenant.

Docking in Republic City took a little while, which had Iroh tapping his foot with impatience. Though it wasn't like he was shirking his duties or anything, just that he was especially aggressive toward his crew because they were moving like a heard of turtles, and Iroh seriously did not have time for this. At least, in his mind he didn't.

He had reported in before they even docked to move things along faster. Finally stepping out into the fresh air of Republic City was like a miracle. The flashing lights of holo-ads practically assaulting his eyes under the warm sunlight. Iroh figured it was Fall, but it was hard to tell with the moderated temperature domes that enabled cohabitants to remain on the planet of Avatar, which of course did not include the original inhabitants, like Bolin. Iroh, however came from the planet, Mortar, but Republic City had become his home.

Iroh kept a swift, deliberate pace as he walked down the streets, dialing up Bolin, praying to all of his lucky stars that Bolin would answer. Though it was quite possible that he was asleep at that moment.

"Captain?" a groggy voice erupted into Iroh's mind via his microchip. A slow smile spread across Iroh's face at the sound of Bolin's voice.

"Lieutenant," Iroh responded, slowly and calculated as many of his conversations with Bolin were starting to become, "How was your mission?" Iroh could hear shifting in the background, figuring Bolin was getting up.

"You just got in, didn't you?" Bolin responded, and Iroh could almost see the teasing smile on Bolin's face, "Did you miss me?" Iroh snorted.

"Oh, you did!" Bolin practically cooed at the sound of Iroh's reply, "I feel so special now."

"Are you going to tell me how the mission went?" Iroh asked, almost dryly, as the majority of his emotions were sucked into the box of "I have feelings for my comrade when I should not".

"Oh, well, it was a just a deal with rebel forces. Those damn anti-government fools ambushed us... I'd tell you more, but it'd have to be in private," Bolin replied passionately then stiffly.

"Do you want me to stop and get you something from Narook's?" Iroh inquired softly. Bolin practically moaned in response, which startled Iroh.

"_Yes_," Bolin answered, "Please." He coughed softly as if to clear his throat, which was one of the many things Bolin did when he was embarrassed. Iroh smiled again.

"Alright, see you in ten."

**.**

Iroh arrived at Bolin's apartment with a bag of plasma eel noodles, which historically proved to be Bolin's absolute favorite from that tiny noodle shop in downtown Republic City.

"Iroh!" Bolin cheered upon seeing the captain, practically grinning stars into existence. He wrapped Iroh in a big hug, then proceeded to steal the bag of food from Iroh, "You got my favorite!" He blushed slightly, pulling out the packet and digging in.

"Yes, nice to see you too," Iroh replied, albeit a little stiffly, but Bolin barely noticed as he groaned about how good the food was. Admittedly, Iroh had learned how to actually cook this particular dish, but the taste barely compared, no matter how many times he tried to cook it.

**.**

"So we were ambushed, but it was the plan the entire time for that to happen, because our cargo wasn't actually weapons that were to be delivered to planet Alta. We were the diversion, but also we were supposed to be testing out Varrick's new doohickey. And half Kuvira's fleet was wiped out by the 'doom ray' as Varrick called it. It really sapped our power though..." Bolin said with huge gesticulations throughout the tale. Of course, Iroh knew that Bolin was only telling him the surface details. He couldn't actually disclose the full tale to him ever.

"We barely made it back to Republic City actually. The fleet's tech is really not ready to handle that 'doom ray' of Varrick's..." Bolin continued with a shrug. Iroh frowned slightly.

"I really don't like the thought of you dying out in space," Iroh deadpanned. Bolin blushed in response.

"Oh, Captain! You worry too much," Bolin replied, slapping Iroh on the shoulder.

"I'm serious, Bolin," Iroh responded. Bolin frowned slightly, making a slightly concerned expression.

"You're starting to sound like Asami, Cap," he replied cautiously. Iroh knew immediately what Bolin was implying. He was starting to talk how Asami did when it came to Rear Admiral Korra, her wife.

"Well, I understand how she feels," Iroh said softly. Bolin's eyes widened slightly, then he frowned.

"That's no fair, you're in as much danger as I am too," Bolin countered quickly, completely overlooking Iroh's implications of caring for Bolin at the same level as a spouse.

"You're right... but I certainly feel safer when you're a part of my crew," Iroh replied pointedly. At this point, Bolin could ignore it no longer.

"Iroh... are you saying...?" Bolin asked softly in a quivering voice. He could barely dare to entertain the possibility...!

"Yes, I think of you romantically," Iroh answered, appearing unabashed, which was entirely untrue because Iroh was a mess on the inside because "oh no, he's really done it now".

"Ca-ca... Iroh..." Bolin said slowly, his heart seizing up because he barely knew how to respond. Iroh looked away, knowing that this was _it_. Bolin didn't see him in the same way. Fantasy was going to be shattered once more by reality._  
_

"I really never thought this was going to happen. I mean, look at me, I've been without any sort of relationship for all my life. My friends are all married, and I can't even have a one night stand. And then hey, for years now I've been in love with my captain, and _wow_! All of a sudden I find out he likes me back, and I just...! What do I say? How do I express this thrilled and confused emotion that I'm feeling because I don't know how to do it and-"

Iroh pressed a kiss to Bolin's lips, sliding his fingers into Bolin's already messy hair. Bolin leaned into the kiss happily, gazing at Iroh dazedly after he pulled away.

"I think you answered perfectly well, Bo," Iroh whispered. Bolin grinned in response because Iroh just used the nickname that Asami always did, and my goodness, it sounded _way_ better when Iroh said it.

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**Thanks for reading! A review would be much appreciated. **

**~Minatu-Corneille  
**


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